Fountain toothbrush



n F. SALINGERA v 2,318,635

FOUNTAIN TooTHBRUsH Filed Dec. 19, 19'40 fly] l jgs Patented May l1,

UNITED STATES y PATENT OFFICE FOUNTAIN TOOTHBRUSH Fred Salinger, Chicago, Ill. Application lDecember 19, 1940, Serial No. 370,864

1 Claim.

My invention relates to vfountain tooth brushes, and more particularly to the type designed to store and dispense a liquid dentifrice, and one object of my invention is to design a brush of this kind in which the feed of the material is positive.

Another object of the invention is to provide a complete shut-off in order to enable the brush to be carried or stored in any position without risk of leakage.

Another object of the invention is to construct the brush with ,passages so designed as to prevent leakage of any material beyond the zone of the shut-off.

An additional object of the invention is to design the same with a measuring factor, whereby to feed a desired amount of material and no more.

An important object of the invention is to construct the brush on lines of simplicity, compactness, and good appearance.

With the above objects in view and any others which may suggest themselves from the description to follow, a better understanding of the invention may be had by reference to theaccompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improvedbrush;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, partly broken away;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross-section of the brush in inverted position and broken away; and

Fig. 41s a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

While liquid dentlfrices are considered popular, more or less diillculty is had, or particular care is required to apply them to the tooth brush, so that in this respect they have a disadvantage. However, such a dentifrice dispensed in a fountain tooth brush would seem to have decided merits, and it has therefore been my intention to so design a fountain tooth brush that it may form an eilcient means for the storage and use of a liquid dentifrice.

In accordance with the foregoing, I denotes the handle of a, typical tooth brush so enlarged as to form a barrel or container for a. liquid dentifrice. The forward end of the barrel is tapered as indicated at II to form the brush head I2, which is of standard design, having the usual l set of bristle tufts I3 and being adapted to receive a suitable sanitary cover I4 for the same. As indicated, the tooth brush is made of a. transparent material, such as Lucite or a similar plastic, this making for sanitation and the visibility ofthe barrel contents.

The rear end of the barrel is preferably made thicker on the inside as indicated at I5 and formed with a tapped inlet passage I6 into which a screw-plugl I1 is insertible as indicated, the

screw-plug having an external knob I8.

'I'he chamber I9 withinthe barrel I6 tapers at its forward end as indicated at to terminate with a cup 2l; and the screw-plug I'I is extended with a long axial stem 22 which terminates at its forward end with a plunger 23, the latter being of a diameter to smoothly fit the cup 2|.

The tapered or neck portion II of the .barrel contains a passage 24 leading from the bottom of the cup 2| to a point in the zone of the brush he d I2. There, the passage 241s constricted as in icated at 25 to continue with a ne longitudinal duct 26 which extends between thebases of the bristle tufts I3. Outlets 21 to the surface of the brush head extend from the duct 26, such tooth brush so outlets opening between the bristle tufts and being flared toward the exterior.

When the tooth brush -is to be filled with the dentifrice, it is inverted as in Fig. 3 and the screw-plunger fully withdrawn. The liquid is then poured until the greater portion of the chamber I9 is lled, at which point the plunger is re-inserted and screwed down until it seats in the cup 2|, forming a shut-off for the liquid 'in the chamber. At this time, it may be assumed that the passage 24 contains a filling of the liquid, and that some liquid may be present in the duct 26. However, when the plunger is in the shutoi position, there will be no leakage of the liquid below the same, first because the capillary nature of the duct 26 will prevent itv from releasing any liquid, and second because the plunger 23 forms a vacuum head against the ow of liquid from it.

'I'he tooth brush as prepared in the above manner may be carried or stored in any position until its use is required. At such time, it may be 1 placed in the inverted position of Fig. 3 and the plunger retracted to the extent shown, this action allowing the' cup 2I to illl with a measured quantity of liquid. 'I'he advance of the plunger will feed only this quantity forward into the Dassage 24 and duct 26, forcing a corresponding amount of liquid out into the bristle zone. As

liquid dentifrices are usually of a colloidal or fairly thick consistency, the liquid in the bristle zone will not run off, but will mix with water already in such zone or applied thereto in order to produce the resulting lather.

It is probable that, after the tooth brush has been treated as just described, a residue of the liquid will remain in the passage 24 and duct 26 until the next time the brush is used. As a constituted may be in storage or out of use for a few days or weeks, the question presents itself whether the dentifrice in the pas sage 24 and the duct 26 will not dry out or so congeal as to impede or block the feed when the -.tooth brush is again used. The answer to this question is in the negative, rst because the diever, two factors against this tendency become apparent. One is that the flaring outlets 21 from the duct received a considerable quantity of water when the brush was washed to dilute what dentifrice liquid remained in the duct 26; andv the second factor is that with only a partial lle ing of the dentifrice liquid inthe duct while some water is present or when it has dried out, little resistance will be encountered in the duct by the liquid positively fed from the passage 24, so that this liquidwll penetrate through the duct and soften or liquefy any residue which may have become congealed in'the duct.

It will be evident from the above description that a fountain tooth brush is had which combines all the advantages desired in an article of this character. Thus, with the body of the brush and also the plunger unit all made from the same transparent or translucent` plastic, the brush may be maintained in a highly sanitary condition and the quantity of dentifrice determined at all times. of liquid fed in accordance with prescribed laboratory dictates, although a user who wishes a greater amount of dentifrice fed to the brush head may operate the feed twice or more. Further, it is apparent that the combination of the The cup 2| fixes the amount measuring cup, vtransmission passage and delivery duct is peculiarly constituted to procure a. positive feed ,which is protected against blocking tendencies while forming a simple and effective retainer for residue dentifrice liquid in the neck and head portions of the brush, so that the brush has a positive feed and clog-proof and leak-proof factors. Finally, it is evident that the cavities in the novel brush are direct and continuous, so that the brush may be quickly and thoroughly flushed when the plunger unit is removed to insure its cleanliness at all times.

While I have described the invention along specific lines, various minor changesvand refinements may be made Without departing from its principle, and I desire to consider all such changes and refinements as coming within the scope and spirit of the appendedV claim.

I claim: f

In a fountain tooth brush having a hollow handle containing a dentifrice reservoir and a delivery duct to the brush head, a tapped and relatively wide inlet passage in the rear end of the handle, a cup-shaped reduction of the front end of the reservoir communicating with said delivery duct, and a control for said reservoir comprising a screw shank threaded in said passage, an external finger knob for said screw shank, a relatively-thin rod integral with and extending forwardly from the screw shank into the reservoir space, and a head carried by the forward end of the rod and adapted to seat in said reduction as a shut-olf for said duct when the knob is turned to advance the screw shank, the unscrewing of the screw shank from said rear end enabling said control to be removed as a unit and afford a spacious filler opening into the reservoir by way of said passage.

FRED SALINGER. 

